What does this nutritional information mean?

This information is designed to give you a breakdown of the ingredients used and their nutritional value. You will notice that these are listed in terms of weight with the main ingredients at the top of that list.

So, if the ingredients at the top of this list are butter, cream or mayonnaise then you are looking at a high fat food. If however, they list olive oil, brown rice or skimmed milk then you are looking at a low fat food. What you should be concerned with is the amount of saturated fat, sugar and salt in that food which is discussed in more detail in the next section.

You will also find that food packaging contains a ‘nutritional analysis’ section which shows the number of calories per 100 grams and per portion.

For example, a ready made meal may contain 120 calories per 100 grams but the portion itself may be 400 grams which means that it will contain 480 calories in total! Be careful when looking at the number of calories in a food product as it is easy to become confused between calories per 100 grams and calories for the full portion.

People have been caught out as they have assumed that they have chosen a low calorie meal whereas the opposite is true because they have confused 100 grams with the portion size. It’s as well to be aware of this and the fact that your definition of a ‘portion’ tends to differ from that of a manufacturer!